Less Than Human
by festival-chan loves books
Summary: Hinata has been forced to kill, and Neji can tell, as can everyone else who cares about her. NejiHina if you must. But it might be more just him comforting her. The title isn't that great.


Everyone has something that they do. Hinata sleeps in.

NejiHina, if you must…

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* * *

Hinata has been forced to kill on a mission. 

Neji, Hanabi, and any other Hyuuga who knows can tell because it is 2:00 in the afternoon, and quiet, tidy, orderly, and punctual Hinata is still asleep in her bedroom.

Neji knows that every ninja has something that they do, something that marks the passing of an enemy nin that they were forced to destroy- a word the Academy used to make it seem less like the enemy was human, because _kill_ was synonymous with _murder_ and that was what humans did to another human, and enemy nin were not human, enemy nin were simply an obstacle to what the mission wanted to have accomplished, and obstacles needed to be removed (another word that made them seem less human).

All ninja knew, however, even the ones telling the little children this, that enemy nins were as human as Konoha nins, but instead of "Konoha" they had the word "enemy" added in front of their job title.

It was, however, one of those things that sometimes had to be done. And every ninja had something that told the world- or at least the people who paid attention and cared- what they had been forced to do. TenTen sits and cleans her blades instead of practicing with them during practice. She summons and cleans every one, as if trying to clear them of the blood spilt. It does not matter if she has not used a blade in years, she cleans it anyway.

Hinata sleeps it off like some people sleep off hangovers. Neji has been told that he smiles more often, but as he registered horror that he seemed happy, he was informed that it was the kind of smile that one smiles as one is crying, that smile that means "I'm falling apart inside and I don't want you to know". Lee practices less, but when he does practice, he hurls more than his all at whatever he is fighting, as if trying to expend his rage at taking a life. The entire village knows when Naruto is depressed in such matters, because Ayame and Ichiraku are seen taking him ramen out of sorrow (lots of ramen). Neji would find it funny if he didn't know how it felt to be like that.

He looks up at a knock upon the front door, and leaves Hanabi at their post in front of Hinata's room. She'd gotten back last night at 10:00, and ran straight to their room, ignoring their greetings. They'd come up after her, but had found she was asleep, and, having an inkling already of what must have happened, set up a silent vigil at her bedroom door, even unofficially taking shifts, Hanabi napping while Neji watches, Neji sleeping while Hanabi waits.

The knock at the door is Shino and Kiba, the former quiet and concerned while the latter, reminding Neji of Naruto, is bouncing around and worried for Hinata. Akamaru seems to be frowning.

Shino and Kiba come inside, and they all sit in front of Hinata's room. Shino is impassive, Kiba impatient, while Hanabi and Neji sit quietly. This is the latest she's ever been, approaching half past two. Her previous record was 1:17, which Neji knows only because Hanabi shouted "She's awake!" while he happened to be looking at the clock.

"I'm sorry," says Hanabi. "I'd wake her up- but, well, you know."

Shino nods, and Kiba says, "Yeah…" while staring vaguely at a point in the middle of Hinata's door, and Neji knows that he is remembering the mission yesterday. He dares to ask.

"What happened?"

Kiba seemed to frown, and Neji, if he wasn't mistaken, saw Shino's face twitch in a way that signified pain.

"It wasn't that she meant to-" he begins, and then looks at Shino for help.

"It had been an accident- the enemy she was fighting moved in a way that was no doubt intended to surprise her, knowing the Byakugan as he seemed to, and so he moved the opposite of the direction he acted liking he was going for, and well-"

"He got her chakra-emitting technique in a way that killed him nearly instantly and painfully," finished Kiba. "It was-" he paused, swallowing- "Horrible."

"The enemy we were fighting- we'd just knocked them out, none of us were intending to kill, least of all her, and we looked up just in time to see it." Shino looked down, eyebrows tilting together and mouth twisting downward in remembrance of something terrible in an expression atypical for the emotionless-seeming shinobi. "Her move would have knocked him out, but the way he moved-" Kiba cut him off.

"It was unavoidable- but awful," said Kiba (surprising Neji with his vocabulary), absently stroking Akamaru. "We told her that the reason he had died was because he had tried something he shouldn't've, and it wasn't her fault."

"But you know her as well as we do," said Shino. "She's not like that."

Neji nodded. They sat in silence for a while, occasionally looking up at the clock. Suddenly, movement caught in the range of the Byakugan alerts Neji and Hanabi, and they jump.

"She's awake," says Neji softly.

They look up, and the door swings open to a forlorn dark-haired girl in a t-shirt and flannel pants who rubs her red nose and sleepy white-lavender eyes.

"Hello," she says timidly. "I didn't realize- didn't realize it was so late…" A tear falls. Kiba jumps up and runs over, while Neji and Shino jump up and walk quickly to her, all stopping just before they put their arms around her (as guys like them are likely to do). Hanabi stands up slowly, carefully, as a Hyuuga lady is taught to, and says tactfully, "I'll go tell Dad you're awake."

All of the boys want to say something, but don't really know what. Kiba holds out Akamaru, who licks Hinata's hand, happy to see her, as she pets him with the other. She laughs sadly (if that even made sense, which Neji wasn't sure it did).

"Glad to see you too, Akamaru." Akamaru stops licking her long enough to bark a happy, doggy reply. "Shall we go?" she asked, trying to seem cheerful and bright like her normal self, acting as though it is morning still, early morning like she would usually wake up.

"Hinata, we came to tell you that you don't need to come today… it's cancelled," said Shino. Her face fell.

"We don't- You don't have to cancel just because- No-"

"If you want to train, I suppose we could." Shino says slowly.

"But you should stay here for a while. You're probably hungry. Or something," said Kiba. She turned slightly green at the thought of eating. Shino frowns.

"It's probably not healthy for you to train right now," said Shino. "You haven't eaten and you just woke up. Stay here and rest." Hinata looked at Neji, who realized he was always telling her she should be training.

"They're right," he said.

"But nii-san-"

"No, Lady Hinata-" old habits die hard- "Rest. Go back to sleep or eat something. Wait till tonight to train." She nods, biting her lip and poking her fingers together, and Neji feels terrible, forcing her to _not_ train. "I'm sorry." He didn't really know why he was apologizing, but it seemed to help anyway.

"All right," she says. "Kiba- Shino- you guys shouldn't look so worried… I'm all right, really. I feel much better now." She doesn't look it, though, and Neji can tell they're still worried.

"Well…" says Kiba. "Hinata, make sure you rest," he says, pouting slightly. "And make sure you eat dinner. You can train afterwards."

"You can find us if you need us," says Shino. Hinata nods.

"I'll be ready to train tomorrow," she says, sounding like she's trying to reassure herself. "Really."

Shino nods, and Kiba says, "We know."

"Well... I've got to get home," said Kiba after a slightly awkward silence.

"Me too," said Shino. "Take care, Hinata."

"Bye!" yells Kiba, already halfway out the door. Shino waves and leaves quietly.

Neji looks at her briefly and wishes he hadn't: She looks like she wilted, a dying flower.

"Did they- Did they tell you?" she whispers.

He nods, unsure what her reaction will be. She rushes forward, grabbing him around the waist, and she starts to sob.

"I- I swear I didn't mean to- I didn't want to- I wanted to knock him unconscious-" she cries into his shirt, and Neji, unsure yet again, but this time about what to do, pats her awkwardly on the top of her head.

"I know, Lady Hinata." He remembers his remarks, intended to be an insult, during the Chuunin exams. _You are all sweetness and light, and not fit to be a kunoichi._ Actually, that has changed, and she is a really great medic nin. But she still doesn't like conflict. And she definitely was not meant to kill.

"I'm so sorry!" she chokes out. "I feel so terrible- I- I just-" She stops talking, and starts crying again.

"I know, Lady Hinata." Maybe if he just keeps saying it, she'll feel better... Not like he can think of anything else to say. Well, maybe. He adds, "It wasn't your fault. They told me that he moved unexpectedly."

She nods, and sniffles. "I'm so sorry... Your shirt... It's all wet now."

"It's fine," he says. He didn't really care that his shirt was wet, although it wasn't too comfortable.

"You didn't need to go to training or anything today, did you? Oh my gosh, did I just keep you here? I'm so sorry- I hope I didn't..."

"It's all right, I didn't need to go to training today."

"Thank you for staying here with me... I'm so sorry..."

Neji's starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. Hinata was pretty much hanging on to him for dear life, and though it wasn't a problem, it was a bit... bothersome.

"Why don't we go sit down on a couch or something?" he asks, and she nods.

"Let's go." She releases him from her grasp, but looks a little lost still, and he reaches out to pull her by the hand. She follows, and they go find a couch. She curls up in a corner of it, looking tense, with him sitting on the other side. They stay there for a while, looking out the window that is on the wall in front of them. He looks over at her after a while, and, realizes her eyes are closed and she's probably asleep (although still tense and looking scared).

_I've got to call Lee or TenTen, and tell them I can't make it to training tonight._ He hadn't needed to go train earlier, but he would have tonight, and somehow he didn't feel like he could leave Hinata here, and since she was asleep, he could probably call now. They'd understand- TenTen had frequently missed practice when her younger siblings were sick.

He stands up. Her eyes open.

"No- please don't-" Hinata whispers. "Please don't leave me alone." She looks up, eyes pleading, shiny around the edges.

And what else could he do? It wasn't much trouble at all, really, but he did need to call someone. He glanced toward the telephone, but something made him turn back towards her. And one glance at his cousin told him he was staying.

"All right, Lady Hinata," he said. "I'll stay right here. Sleep." _Calling them could wait_, he thinks, as he looks at the red-rimmed eyes of his cousin. She moves over and sits next to him, as opposed to her previous position on the opposite side of the couch.

"Thank you so much, Neji-nii-san..." she says as she drifts off to sleep again. "I feel so much better now." She closes her eyes and relaxes against the couch (and him), almost smiling.

Perhaps a nap wouldn't hurt him, either. He leans against a couch cushion, feeling relieved that his cousin was better.

The last thing he remembers before falling asleep is the clouds in the window in the wall across the room.

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This was supposed to be an angst/Neji-reflecting-on-ninjadom fanfic... but it evolved into a Neji cares about his cousin and worries about her kind of fic. 

I'm sensing a pattern in my writing...

Please review. I don't know if I liked this one... I may edit it later... Please let me know if there was anything I could have done better. I would like to fix it up a little.


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